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I (Nd Model.) zsnets-sneet 1. J. 'A. HARRIS.

TIE PLATE FOR RAILWAY TRACKS.

' No. 514,828. Patented Feb. 13, 1894.

WITNESSES: I %//VV%? M f M Q am ATTORNEY.

I (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

. J. A. HARRIS. v

TIE PLATE FOR RAILWAY TRACKS- No 514,828. Patented Feb. 13, 1894;

WITNESSES:

I IIVVE/VTO Y Y f Arron 7.

- -UNITE STATES JOSEPHA. HARRIS, OF MONOTON, CANADA.

Tl E-PLATE FOR RAILWAY-TRACKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 514,828, dated February 13, 1894.

Application filed December 29, 1892- Serial No- 456,731. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J OSEPH A. HARRIS, residing at the city of Moncton, Province of New Brunswick, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tie- Plates for Railway-Tracks, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in tie plates for railway tracks designed to afford a firm bearing for the base of the rail upon a soft wooden tie, thus combining the cheapness and elasticity of a soft-wood tie with all the stabilityand wearing qualities of a hard wood or metallic tie, although the improvements can be advantageously used on a hard wood tie; but its prime economy and efficiency is greater and more apparent in connection with a soft wood tie which costs far less than the expensive hard Wood ties, such as locust or oak ties, now generally used.

The primary object of this improvement is to obviate the wearing and grinding action,

of the rail upon the ties and the holding spikes due to the impact and weight upon the head of the rail of the heavily loaded rolling stock; and at the same time hold the rail firmly on its bed, in a correct upright position, to afford a good bearing for the wheels and flanges,and prevent the rails from spreading, thus reducing to a minimum the liability to derailment of the train consequent upon the spreading or lateral displacement of. the rails which is not infrequently caused by the tie being Worn away and the spikes being loosened by the grinding or abrasive action 7 of the rail on the tie and spikes when the latter rest directly upon the tie or are driven into direct contact with the fibers of the wood without being protected.

With these and such other ends in view as pertain to my invention, it consists ,of a tie plate adapted to be interposed between the tie and base of a rail and to afford a broad firm bearing for the base of the rail, said plate provided with depending spike-guards or prongs having cutting edges designed to penetrate the tie, and arranged substantially as will be hereinafter more fully set forth, to contact with the inner face of the spike when it is driven; said tie-plate being further provided with depending retainer flanges, and

with a rib or flange on its upper side designed to bear against the foot of the rail which is seated on my improved tie-plate When the device is in use. The spike flanges and guards are stamped or cut from the body of the plate, and turned downward therefrom, so as to enter the wooden-tie in line with the grain of the wood, and the spike is driven into the tie so that its upper part is in contact with or bears against one face of the spike guard or prong While its head bears directly on the upper side of the base of the rail, whereby the spikes are protected, by said prongs or flanges, from being loosened in the tie by the grinding or abrasive action of the rail thereon when the rolling stock passes over and upon the head of the rail.

The depending retainer-flanges may be provided along the side edges of the tie or bearhug plate, so as to be driven into the wooden tie in line with the grain of the wood, to af-' ford in conjunction with the spike guards or prongs and the spikes themselves a verysecure means for fastening the tie or hearing plate to the Wooden tie; but said retainer-flanges may be arranged across the ends of the tieplate, or additional flanges may be used across the ends of the tie-plate in conjunction with the side-retainer flanges, and designed to be driven into the wooden tie across the grain thereof, to more effectually prevent endwise as well as lateral displacement of said tie or bearing plate upon the tie.

The rail-flange on the upper side of the tie or bearing plate acts in connection with the depending retainer-flanges to prevent edgewise displacement of the tie-plate beneath the rail; and a better distribution of bearing surface for the rail is afforded by said tie-plate as the retainer-flanges and rail flange combine to give great strength and stiffness so that under ordinary or even excessive load or pressure of the rolling stock, the plate will not yield or break under the rail. The spike guards or prongs are arranged, preferably, at diagonally opposite corners of the plate, and the spikes act together against the guards or prongs so as to greatly overcome the tendency of the rails to slip or move.

The depending retainer flanges and spike guards or prongs together with the rail flanges on the upper side of the plate, tend to add greatly to the rigidity and strength of the plate, or to reinforce the same; and as said t1e orbearing plate receives all the wear and abrasive action of the rail in all its actions and movements, and is so firmly held to the wood that the rail cannot become displaced, a structure is produced which supplies all the wearlng and durable qualities of a metallic or hard wood tie with the elasticity and cheapness of the soft wood tie.

The preferred embodiment of my invention, as well as modifications thereof, are illustrated by the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 is a view showing the rail in side elevation, the tie in cross section, and the tie or rail-bearing plate in end view. Fig. 2 is a vlew at right angles to Fig. 1 illustrating the rallln transverse section, the tie in longitudi' nal section, and the side edge of the bearing plate. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of my tie plate, and Fig. 4 1s a transverse section thereof,on the plane indrcated by the dotted line m-a; of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 1s a perspective View of one modification of my tie-plate, and Fig. 6 is a like view of another modified construction of my tie-plate.

I Will now proceed to a detailed description of the preferred embodiments of my inventron, in connection with said drawings, in which like letters of reference denote like parts in all the figures.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, A is the me or hearing plate which is interposed be tween the base I) of the rail B and the wooden tie O. The tie or hearing plate is preferably of the general rectangular flat form shown in the drawings, and it is placed squarely down on the tie with its length in the direction of the rail and at right angles across the tie so that the base of the rail bears firmly on the tie-plate. Said plate is formed of a single piece of metal, by rolling it to the required thickness, and at this operation of rolling the plate the rail-flange D is formed at or near one of the side-edges of said plate A. This integral rail flange I) projects sufficiently above the upper side of the plate to have firm bearing against the side of the base of the rail, and said rail-flange may run continuously from end to end of the tie or hearing plate or it may be intersected, or be made discontinuous, by punching the plate to form one of the depending spike prongs or guards.

At the end of the tie or bearing plate A, I provide the depending retainer flange E, or two retainer flanges E, F, may be formed at opposite ends of said plate. These retainer flanges E, F, lie at right angles to the line or body of the tie-plate, and they are preferably tapered from their juncture with the plate toward the lower edges thereof, indicated at f, to adapt said flanges to readily penetrate the fibers of the wood-tie and still have a firm hold thereon. In the preferred embodiment of my invention, I make the tie-plate with two retainer-flanges, one at each end thereof,-and arranged so as to be driven into the tie in line with the fibers of the wood as shown by Figs. 1 and 2, but I would have it understood that my invention is not restricted to this particular arrangement of the retainer-flanges provided along one of its side edges, as shown by Fig. 5 at G, G, said side retainer flanges being designed to penetrate the wood at right angles to the grain thereof and which assist, in connection with the spikes and the spikeprongs or guards, to hold the tie-plate firmly on the tie against edgewise displacement laterally to the line of the rail.

II, I, are the spike prongs or guards which are made integral with the plate A and depend therefrom, at right angles to the line or body of the same. These spike prongs or guards are arranged to enter the tie at right angles to or across the grain of the wood, and in the preferred form of plate the prongs or guards are arranged so that the edges thereof are presented to the faces of the retainer-flanges. These prongs or guards are preferably located near diagonally opposite corners of the plate; and in the plate shown by Figs. 3 and 4, the flange II is formed by making an incision along the edge of the plate and then bending down a part of the metal along this incision while the prong I on the opposite side of the plate is formed by making a triangular punch in the edge of the plate, between the ends of the rail-flange, and then similarly bending the metal so punched. These spike flanges are of the triangular form shown in the drawings and after the plate has been placed in position on the rail it is forced downward so that the retainer flanges and spike prongs penetrate the fibers of the Wooden tie.

The rail having been placed on the tie-plate so that its base rests firmly thereon, the spikes are driven into the tie, with their heads resting on the base of the rail and the upper part of each spike rests against and in contact with the prong or guard, thereby holding the rail in position and the guard prongs serving to prevent the action of the rail from loosening the hold between the spike and tie, as has been explained.

In the embodiment of my tie-plate shown by Fig. 5, the retainer flanges are arranged at the side edges of the plate to penetrate the wood across the grain; and the spike guards or prongs are formed at opposite sides of the plate, near the middle thereof, by punching triangular holes J in the plate, the metal so punched being bent down to form the triangular prongs and the spikes being inserted and driven through the holes .I into the tie, the spikes being in contact with the base of the rail and the prongs. The spike-holes and prongs or guards may, however, be provided near diagonal corners of the plate, as shown by Fig. 6, and a single retainer flange E may be provided on one end edge of said plate, said flange extending only part way across said plate.

Among the advantages of my improved plate, in addition to those hereinbefore mentioned, is the saving of labor in laying the track. In laying the rails,it is of the utmost importance to first lay the tie-plates on the ties at proper measured distances apart from brace to brace, thus forming'a good guide for the true alignment of the rails and saving the labor of tamping up and cutting down the ties and shimming up the rails.

The tie plate is particularly useful on bridge-work and on curved portions of the track, as the rails are held so firmly and the wearing of the tie and spikes wholly obviated, that the rails cannot slip on the bed, thus reducing to a minimum the liability of the rails to spread and the consequent derailment of the train.

The tie-plate is cheap of manufacture, easily and quickly applied, and reliable, durable and efiicient in service.

It is evident that changes in the form and proportion of parts and details of construction of the devices herein shown and described as an embodiment of my invention can be made by a skilled mechanic without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of my invention, and I therefore reserve the right to make changes and alterations as fairly fall within the scope of the same.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by f Letters Patent, is

or prongs having the cutting edges which penetrate the tie, and the spikes each driven through said tie-plate into the tie, with its inner face in contact with said spike-guard or prong-and its head bearing on the rail base,

substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

3. A tie-plate for-railway tracks provided,

at diagonally-opposite points, with the depending triangular spike prongs or guards madeintegral with the plate by punching the latter and bending the metal, substantially as described.

4:. A tie-plate for railway tracks, prov1ded with the depending retainer-flanges E along its side edges and the spike-guards or prongs H, 1, formed within its edges by cutting and bending said plate, the retainer-flange and spike guard each-having a cutting-edge adapted to penetrate the tie or sleeper, as and for the purpose described.

5. A tie plate for railway tracks provided with a retainer flange and the spike-prongs or guardsarranged to present their edges to the faces of the retainer-flanges, substantially as described.

6. A tie-plate for railway tracks, provided at its ends with the depending retainer flanges and at its sides with the spike guards or prongs which have their edges presented to the faces of the retainer flanges, substantially as described.

7. A tie-plate for railway tracks, comprising a flat plate, the longitudinal rail flange on the upper side of the plate, the depending retainer-flange E along the side edge, and the depending spike guards or prongs H, I, said retainer-flange and spike guard provided with the lower cutting edges, substantially as and for the purpose described.

8. The combination with a rail and a tie or sleeper, 0f the interposed plate provided, on its upper side, with a rail-flange and, on its lower side, with the depending retainer flanges E, F, and the spike-guards H, I, said spike guards lying in planes at right angles to'the retainer flanges and said flanges and guards being forced or driven into the tie or sleeper, and the spikes driven into the tie with their upper ends bearing against the spike-guards and their heads. bearing on the base of the rail, as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I hereto set my hand and seal this 3d day of September, A. D. 1892.

JOSEPH A. HARRIS. [L. s]

In presence of- FLETCHER ROGERS, WM. K. GRoss. 

